The retro game spring seems to be flowing again!
Borrowed from RPGClassics.com’s Faxanadu WT
Maybe people are getting ready for a season change and are looking to part with some belongings before winter, or maybe it’s just coincidence. Either way, there are a ton of new ads appearing online and there have been a few games that have come out of the woodwork in shops over the last week or so. Despite the online ad surge, I’ve been having my best luck in the hock shops and thrift stores this week.
The first game I managed to pick up was an RPG for the Playstation called Eternal Eyes. It was a bit of an impulse buy because the hock shop was having a 50% off sale on many newer generation games (all generations of Playstation and Xbox games, really.) What got me interested was what my boyfriend showed me the back of the game’s case: there was a Chocobo-esque character among some JRPG-ish-looking folks. That sounded like a recipe for a good time! It also helped that the game was only $5, and I’ve gambled more away on sillier things. After getting into a brief argument with the cashier about how beat up a disc should be before it goes into the resurfacer (I won), the game was ours. When we got home, I read up a bit and apparently the game is a tactical RPG. I haven’t played much of those at all but I am looking forward to giving this one a whirl. The only other strategy RPG that I have is Final Fantasy Tactics, which I’ve heard is a cornerstone of the genre. Eternal Eyes is supposed to be mediocre, but maybe it’s a good place to start. It wouldn’t feel good going from great games in a genre to ones that aren’t so great, so hopefully this will be a good introduction to the game style.
Here is a picture of the case. It’s a bit beaten up, but the disc is essentially flawless after resurfacing. The cover art is far from stunning, but the swords and castles are promising. Also, red eyes! That’s a pretty indicative feature of malevolence. I always love a good antagonist in a game.
The second game I found hanging around a hock shop was Adventures of Lolo 2 for NES. The Lolo games are so fun and cute! The music is some of the most memorable I’ve heard in an NES game, and any kind of puzzle game is attractive to me. This copy of the game was priced pretty cheaply compared to what I had seen it going for online, so I pounced. I picked it up for $30. I wish I had gotten it for less, but you can’t win them all. After a thorough PCB contact cleaning, the game was up and running. The cartridge itself has some red marker on it that only mostly comes off and there’s some sticker residue that has merged with the plastic to form some horrible hybrid, but the label is nice! Here’s a photo!
The last game I picked up was for the Game Boy Advance, and it’s a Harvest Moon title. You might recall that I very recently picked up Friends of Mineral Town for the GBA, but I managed to find More Friends of Mineral Town for $15 at the thrift shop.
I love Harvest Moon games and will pick them up whenever I see them, but I honestly thought that this game was a sequel to Friends of Mineral Town. I was wrong. Apparently the gameplay is identical to that of Friends of Mineral Town, but one of the key differences is that you play as a girl and can woo guys in the game instead of girls. To pander to the female demographic, you can also change your outfit? I don’t know that that would’ve been a selling feature for me as a young girl looking for a game, but I digress. Looking at online stores, if the two games are essentially the exact same with a different “protagonist”, I’m surprised at the price difference between them. Friends of Mineral Town goes for about $10-$20 more than More Friends of Mineral Town! I also found out today that Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town can talk to A Wonderful Life and Another Wonderful Life, respectively, on the GameCube. I don’t really know how or to what degree, but that was a neat little piece of trivia I picked up from the Interwebs.
I am pretty happy with all the nice discoveries for the week so far. I feel very diversified since all my purchases were from different systems, which isn’t usually the case. It has been a little while since I’ve found anything for Playstation!
As I’m finding more and more great games, it’s becoming apparent that I really need to sit down and spend some time playing them! With summer renovations drawing to a close, I have all the time I can possibly want to continue addressing this game backlog. I’m hoping to do more online streaming on Twitch sooner than later.
Thanks for reading, as always. I hope you’re all enjoying a four-day week if you were lucky enough to have a long weekend this past weekend!
-GG
hungrygoriya 
Okay first I love the Faxanadu reference. That game is actually what got me into the world of watching LPs, because I thought about it one day and how much I wanted to see it played again and voila I discovered an awesome Let’s Player.
I have Eternal Eyes, too! I’ve never played FF Tactics (it’s on my backlog list), but I enjoyed EE (omg really? EE as opposed to FF? Why do I notice these ridiculous things?). It’s purely strategic for the most part. I can’t speak to Tactics, but most Final Fantasies are more story heavy. EE has some story, but it’s mostly about the battles with customizable puppets. It was fun.
I love the Lolo series, and it’s probably what got me into loving puzzle games in general. I first played Lolo 3 then worked backwards when I had access to an emulator and roms.
Hope you enjoy all of your great finds!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Faxanadu is pretty much my favourite game. I’ve played it over and over again throughout my lifetime and fall in love a little more each time. Everything about it is great, but I especially love the soundtrack. The password screen music is fantastic!
I’m glad to hear that Eternal Eyes is worth a play. I was a little worried when I saw some reviews leaning toward the negative side. I’m pumped to actually sit down and get to some gaming in the near future! And I’m glad I’m not the only person in the entire world that hasn’t played FF Tactics or that has a backlog list!
The first time I played a Lolo game was on an emulator, and I loved it. I’ve been meaning to pick them up, but the price is always way too high! I see them at swaps all the time for $40+ for the 2nd and 3rd games, with the first running about $20. I’m happy I finally have one, though. I’m a horrible puzzle solver so the game will probably be something I play by myself with no audience!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The music was a huge draw for me to find that game again!
I think so long as you’re not expecting some in depth story you’ll be fine. It was a fun little strategy game. Nope haven’t played Tactics or Mystic Quest. V and XIII are also on my backlog list.
Wow I wonder if it’s because they’re cartridges? I know that an original copy of FFVI on the SNES is well over $200 at this point. Lolo will either make you an expert puzzle solver or you’ll walk away in a huff lol. I really like them because I credit them with a LOT of my problem solving skills. Who says video games aren’t educational?
LikeLiked by 1 person
As a fan of life-long learning, it’s time to sharpen my puzzle skills (apparently!)
It seems cartridge games and most things Nintendo have retained or increased in value, especially over the last few years. I always try to buy cheap and get a deal on stuff which is why I’m constantly in second hand stores or yard sale-ing. The price hike is mostly arbitrary price inflation based on a game’s popularity rather than how many game cartridges were produced and how easy they are to track down. For example, Little Samson is supposed to be a really rare game. People price that game high because it’s supposedly very hard to come by. At the last swap that I went to, there were FOUR copies priced anywhere from $150-$300 depending on their condition! That certainly doesn’t scream rare to me at an event with 50 sellers. It smells like embellishment to get people’s money!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That boxart for Eternal Eyes is hilarious! No wonder you picked it up considering it was cheap, there’s no way I’d be able to resist something like that. I remember thinking the boxart for Koudelka on PS1 looked bad when I got it and that turned out to be really interesting as a game, if not especially good 😛 It’s fun to take a chance though every once in a while!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely! I spend so much time researching and planning what I want to purchase that sometimes going in blind is a lot of fun! For the boxart for Eternal Eyes, I especially love the eye on the sword. The back of the case is much more interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person